• Life Advice & Visual Arts Welcome Guest
    Posting Rules Bluelight Rules
    🌌 Share Your Dreams! 🌌
    📸 15 Years of Photo Contests 📸
  • LAVA Moderator: Shinji Ikari

Canada v. America

Status
Not open for further replies.
AstridAsteroid

AstridAsteroid

Bluelighter
Joined
Apr 20, 2002
Messages
2,951
Location
No. Virginia
I think that I'm seriously beginning to think about moving to Canada.

In what ways is Canada better than America? Do they place a lot of importance on having a college degree? Can I find work up there? How much does a place cost? What's the best way to go about moving up there and working ASAP? Where's the best location/province?
 
Canada is far superior to America. Move to Sudbury, it's really nice and I'm certain has local colleges.


I don't even need to support that Canadia > America....



everyone knows it already ;)
 
Last edited:
weed's not legal in Alaska. i used to live there. they just voted not to legalize it (again) on nov 2nd. they do have very good weed though, and the cops tend to look the other way a lot, but it's definitely not legal. if i could i would move to vancouver.
 
Changed your mind about the election already, eh?! :)

I keed, I keed. I wish I knew anything about Canada, other than that it's cold, slushy, and gives rise to a lot of "comedians" (guess there's not much else going on there or something)
 
Well, technically it's only cold 10 months out of the year :)

Seriously though, while in many places the winter can get really cold (below -30 C at times where I live), the summers can get stupidly hot (over 30 C). As a result, people are constantly bitching about the weather. If you're that concerned about weather, definately go to Vancouver. It's easily one of the most temperate places in the country: the summers are hot and humid, the winters are cool (rarely below -5 C) and wet.

While I haven't really seen much of the US, based on what I've picked up from US news Canadians seem to be a bit more laid back. The whole politeness thing is IMO a myth, but chances are you aren't going to get stabbed for looking at someone the wrong way.
 
from what i know, i would much rather live in canada..

the slopes for 1, the weed for another :D
 
AstridAsteroid said:

In what ways is Canada better than America?
Click to expand...
That's a pretty broad question. Never having lived in the US, I can't answer it anyway.

Do they place a lot of importance on having a college degree?
Click to expand...
Yes. I'd wager that educationally speaking, our two countries are quite similar. However, there are jobs that don't require degrees.

Can I find work up there?
Click to expand...
What kind of work are you looking for? It depends on your location, education, experiences, interests, etc. Some cities/provinces have better employment/unemployment rates, just like the US.
How much does a place cost? What's the best way to go about moving up there and working ASAP? Where's the best location/province?
Click to expand...
I lumped all of those questions together because it totally varies all over the country. Would you be looking for a bachelor apartment?

I don't know anything about immigration to Canada, so maybe someone else can pitch in about the process and how to do it ASAP.

Re: location, the two most popular cities are surely Vancouver and Montreal. It depends on what you want to get out of your experience in living in a given area. Toronto is really interesting (i'm moving there from Atlantic Canada in a few days) depending on your interests. It's said that Vancouver'll make you soft if you let it, whereas Toronto will harden you if you let it. I'd suggest doing some research about these cities and what they are about, or give us more details in this thread about what kind of place you'd like to live in. If you're looking for a more rural area, obviously, this is completely different. :)

Maybe shannabananna and/or some other Canadians could pop their heads in here and give some more feedback.
 
I am seriously considering, in fact i am 99% sure that i will be moving to Canada because of the outcome of the last election and the future of The United States America. It has always been something we considered doing (we almost did 5 years ago), but the election was the nail in the coffin.
Parts of British Columbia are warmer then parts of the United States, you don't have to relocate to a weather extreme section.

I would suggest taking the immigration quiz and see if you score enough points to immigrate.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/index.html
or there is always:
http://marryacanadian.com/

You just can't find a job and leave though, you must first provide a job skill that they have a demand for and can't fill with other Canadians first. Education does count but so does years of job experience in an occupation that is of high demand there.
Also, if you don't have a job first you must have proof of funds to support yourself for six months ($6,000- $10,000 per person depending on where you choose to live). There is also a $550 application fee and a $975 landing fee.

My husband is going for some job interviews in Kelowna and Kamloops (BC) in January. He is fortunate and we have a lot of places in Canada we can pick from. We will probably be there by the spring. :)
 
Canadians are soo damn inoffensively offensive, its infuriating! :X

Then there's the whole issue of the Canadian pop industry, may its rot in hell for eternity

;)
 
In what ways is Canada better than America?

-Canada is much more the land of the free than the USA (drugs, civil rights, gays, tolerance, more peaceful people etc)
-The country is less divided than the USA (quebec vs alberta is far less worse than california vs texas!)
-etc


Do they place a lot of importance on having a college degree?

As much as in the USA I would say

Can I find work up there? How much does a place cost?

Sure, the economy is doing better than in the USA right now. Just don't go to provinces like NewFoundland and Prince Edward Island and you'll be ok ;)

What's the best way to go about moving up there and working ASAP ?

don't know

Where's the best location/province?

The 2 coolest cities are vancouver and Montreal I believe.

Both are very relaxed on drugs. Weather better in Vancouver. Vancouver is tougher: You see more seringues/addicts on the street than anywhere else in Canada. A lot of asians too, if that's your thing.

I'm in Montreal though, so I know the town better.

Parties are better in Montreal (a lot of DJs / producers say we have the best night-life in North-America, taking into account drugs and nicer people). 1-5 Raves every week-end: trance, house, techno, psy-trance, take your pick.

Very cultural town. Bilingual town (1 million english people on 3 million), most people speak 2+ languages.

French quebecers are very tolerant, laid back, sexually active, drug consumming people overall. Religion has been pretty much dropped since 1960 here in Quebec, although you can practice any religion you want without a problem. Fuck the prejudices if you have some, we are the nicest people in Canada. We just want to keep our language :D

Weed is not legal, but de facto decriminalized. Common word is that you can grow up to 4 plants without beeing in trouble. You can smoke on the streets, at concerts, in raves and after-hours, no problem. Most policemen toke too, so...

Depends on what you want :)
 
I would recommend southwestern Ontario to get started, specifically the twin cities of Kitchener-Waterloo. You'll find work right away, guaranteed.
The area is experiencing a ballistic amount of economic growth. Been living here 6 years, never been out of work, and I don't even have my high school. (temp agencies were invaluable when I moved here...I recommend the company named Prior Resource. Endless supply of general labour or administrative/office temp positions).

Rent is not too bad (currently paying CDN$760 inclusive for a decent 2 bedroom near a park). 1 bedroom units can be found for under $600.

Lots of good schools around, including 2 universities and the highest rated college in the province (Conestoga). Decent public transit, close enough to Toronto that you can get there in just under an hour.

It's also considered Canada's 'Tech Triangle', along with the city of Cambridge....quantum computing research going on here at the Perimeter Institute, and hitech companies like Research in Motion (where I just landed a job) are receiving a lot of investment and employing hundreds of people. Having a post secondary education obviously helps, but is not necessary. Apparently there aren't enough people getting into the trades, and so welders, machininsts etc will be in high demand soon. Good local courses.
Depending on your work backgound, you may be able to find work in the coastal regions of Canada...but all I know is that I'm constantly meeing people who are moving to Ontario from B.C./ Maritimes because they can't find work out there (besides the restaurant/hospitality industry, and it's not suited to some). Don't get me wrong, those provinces are awesome for many reasons ( in fact I want to move to B.C. as soon as I finish my program and if I can land a job out there. I fucking hate the Ontario winters). I just think that to achieve a quick start, KW is the way to go.

http://www.techtriangle.com/

http://www.rim.com/careers/index.shtml

The pop music does suck, but there are great indie scenes.

You also have the distinct pleasure of living in a country that does not invade other sovereign nations unilaterally for economic gain.

And oh yeah......Health Care.
 
It's also considered Canada's 'Tech Triangle', along with the city of Cambridge....quantum computing research going on here at the Perimeter Institute, and hitech companies like Research in Motion (where I just landed a job) are receiving a lot of investment and employing hundreds of people.
Click to expand...

I work in Waterloo at Virtek as a technical writer. I know all about RIM and the Blackberry. Shoot me an e-mail sometime and we'll talk.

[email protected]
 
originally posted by killarava2day

"Canadains are so damn inoffensively offensive it's infuriating":X "


what a coincidence.....we canadians think the same about you Americans:\


as for the posters questions:

YES we require college education just like the US and jobs aren't always so easy to come by, some provinces like Ontario and B.C are already overpopulated and have low employment with people going to the praire provinces (Alberta, saskatchewan and manitoba) to find work.

I wouldn't think you can just magically live up here if your american, you might want to have a plan in store first, and have a job set up.
 
killarava2day said:
There's the whole issue of the Canadian pop industry, may its rot in hell for eternity;)
Click to expand...

I miss the mandatory Canadian content on the radio as a Canadian living in the US. I do not mean Bryan Adams or Celine Dion either. I never liked the buggers when I lived in Canada!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top